One of life’s oldest adages used to be that you could believe everything a taxi driver told you.
To be fair this was from the days when taxi drivers were crusty old white men, often WW II veterans, who had their finger on the pulse of the community and country because they ferried politicians and business leaders and media types around town, gossiped with some and eavesdropped on others.
That scene no longer exists of course, but I was reminded of that adage when a taxi driver in Nairobi told me a story about New Zealand.
After asking us where we were from, he proceeded to tell us that his country’s President William Ruto had told Kenyan dairy farmers that they had to become more like New Zealand dairy farmers and vaccinate their cattle to reduce methane emissions!
Hmm. Apart from the reality that dairy cattle methane emissions are a minor contributor to greenhouse gases, there is actually no vaccine yet available which will reduce methane emissions by a dairy cow, or any animal for that matter.
So surely my Kenyan taxi driver was making that up or had his facts confused?
A quick check reveals that yes, President Ruto last year instructed Kenyan dairy farmers, and all cattle, sheep and goat farmers to vaccinate all their stock and that the government would pay.
But that was to stop the spread of disease, especially Foot and Mouth, which has occurred here during the last 18 months. Ruto believes that if Kenyan cattle - both beef and dairy- are vaccinated and disease free then prospects for export improve.
So my taxi driver story about New Zealand appears to be bumpkin. However it did inspire me to find out a little more about the Kenyan dairy industry considering we drove past a large herd of two or three hundred on the way back from a morning game-watching drive in the Samburu National Reserve.
After four hours of giraffes, elephants, lions, a leopard, a couple of cheetah and numerous impala and antelope, a few hundred scrawny dairy cows being driven back to their owners from an almost dry river was a quite a shock. The animals looked in terrible condition, products of their environment.
Here’s what I found: Kenya has only about 5 million dairy cattle of which around 75 percent are lactating (producing milk) at any one time. The usual herd size is between 2 and 5 cows. Daily production per cow is estimated at just 9 litres a day.
The average New Zealand yield is around 17 litres a day but that’s from herds which average 400 cows and with plentiful green grass irrigated by abundant water.
Here there is no green grass, in fact in this arid nation currently waiting on the rainy season there is precious little grass of any colour right now.
The big herd we saw was a collection of small holdings being brought to the Ewaso Niyero river for a drink before being returned to their owners a few kilometres away in the shadow of some hills.
The Samburu people are waiting for the rainy season. The months of September, October, November and December are known as the SOND and is looked forward to as a time when this brown land will emerge with spots of green.
One way that water is retained and utilised best is through the digging of bunds or “earth smiles” - thousands of semi circular holes hand dug to collect water and then to grow grasses in the fertile albeit impervious soil.
These are people leading a humble, subsistence life. The cow is not as common as the goat or even the sheep. We were invited into a village where they live in huts made of sticks, where cooking is still done on an open fire in a dark enclosed space and where the women and children carry the burden of work. Polygamy is the culture and a man can have up to four wives. Our tracker guide Moses, a native Samburu, insists there is no jealousy among the women.
What we do know is that education may change this primitive way of life. A primary school has been operating here for around five years. Some of the young men, including Moses, have had the benefit of a high school education in Nairobi, 300 hundred kilometres away.
He’s using his literacy and other language skills to now work in tourism. In this country animal conservation is a top priority. The only shooting is done with a camera.
The ability to read and write and have experience beyond the tribal boundaries will surely change the way these people live.
Already there is some solar power. Tourist levies are an important part of their economic future. The visit my wife and I made meant that $US80 was added to a village account where the funds are used to help buy items like school uniforms.
The operators of the lodge we stayed in pay $US 59 per guest night to the wider Samburu community. This money pays for the primary school and the medical centre.
We’ve all watched National Geographic films of African peoples over the years. There is a stark contrast between watching a movie and then seeing and feeling it first hand.
How is it that in the 21st century lives can be so banal and challenging, yet seemingly lived with such contentment?
Yet this is a relatively prosperous part of Africa. Nobody is going hungry here.
And importantly, tourism is a major source of improvement to people’s lives.
Oh, and they were very reluctant to have their animals vaccinated. They’ve survived for hundreds of years without scientific intervention and are quite sceptical about the benefits.
President Ruto still wants to improve animal health to boost exports. But he’s backed down from last year’s executive order on compulsory animal vaccinations.
That means the Samburu tribesmen will happily continue as semi- nomadic cattle and goat rearers - mostly unaware of the world around them.
My urban dwelling taxi driver might like to reflect more on a simple life in the desert not interfered with by virtue signalling politicians.
One more thing. Never let anyone tell you again any New Zealand children live in poverty.
Peter Williams was a writer and broadcaster for half a century. Now watching from the sidelines. Peter blogs regularly on Peter’s Substack - where this article was sourced.
Hmm. Apart from the reality that dairy cattle methane emissions are a minor contributor to greenhouse gases, there is actually no vaccine yet available which will reduce methane emissions by a dairy cow, or any animal for that matter.
So surely my Kenyan taxi driver was making that up or had his facts confused?
A quick check reveals that yes, President Ruto last year instructed Kenyan dairy farmers, and all cattle, sheep and goat farmers to vaccinate all their stock and that the government would pay.
But that was to stop the spread of disease, especially Foot and Mouth, which has occurred here during the last 18 months. Ruto believes that if Kenyan cattle - both beef and dairy- are vaccinated and disease free then prospects for export improve.
So my taxi driver story about New Zealand appears to be bumpkin. However it did inspire me to find out a little more about the Kenyan dairy industry considering we drove past a large herd of two or three hundred on the way back from a morning game-watching drive in the Samburu National Reserve.
After four hours of giraffes, elephants, lions, a leopard, a couple of cheetah and numerous impala and antelope, a few hundred scrawny dairy cows being driven back to their owners from an almost dry river was a quite a shock. The animals looked in terrible condition, products of their environment.
Here’s what I found: Kenya has only about 5 million dairy cattle of which around 75 percent are lactating (producing milk) at any one time. The usual herd size is between 2 and 5 cows. Daily production per cow is estimated at just 9 litres a day.
The average New Zealand yield is around 17 litres a day but that’s from herds which average 400 cows and with plentiful green grass irrigated by abundant water.
Here there is no green grass, in fact in this arid nation currently waiting on the rainy season there is precious little grass of any colour right now.
The big herd we saw was a collection of small holdings being brought to the Ewaso Niyero river for a drink before being returned to their owners a few kilometres away in the shadow of some hills.
The Samburu people are waiting for the rainy season. The months of September, October, November and December are known as the SOND and is looked forward to as a time when this brown land will emerge with spots of green.
One way that water is retained and utilised best is through the digging of bunds or “earth smiles” - thousands of semi circular holes hand dug to collect water and then to grow grasses in the fertile albeit impervious soil.
These are people leading a humble, subsistence life. The cow is not as common as the goat or even the sheep. We were invited into a village where they live in huts made of sticks, where cooking is still done on an open fire in a dark enclosed space and where the women and children carry the burden of work. Polygamy is the culture and a man can have up to four wives. Our tracker guide Moses, a native Samburu, insists there is no jealousy among the women.
What we do know is that education may change this primitive way of life. A primary school has been operating here for around five years. Some of the young men, including Moses, have had the benefit of a high school education in Nairobi, 300 hundred kilometres away.
He’s using his literacy and other language skills to now work in tourism. In this country animal conservation is a top priority. The only shooting is done with a camera.
The ability to read and write and have experience beyond the tribal boundaries will surely change the way these people live.
Already there is some solar power. Tourist levies are an important part of their economic future. The visit my wife and I made meant that $US80 was added to a village account where the funds are used to help buy items like school uniforms.
The operators of the lodge we stayed in pay $US 59 per guest night to the wider Samburu community. This money pays for the primary school and the medical centre.
We’ve all watched National Geographic films of African peoples over the years. There is a stark contrast between watching a movie and then seeing and feeling it first hand.
How is it that in the 21st century lives can be so banal and challenging, yet seemingly lived with such contentment?
Yet this is a relatively prosperous part of Africa. Nobody is going hungry here.
And importantly, tourism is a major source of improvement to people’s lives.
Oh, and they were very reluctant to have their animals vaccinated. They’ve survived for hundreds of years without scientific intervention and are quite sceptical about the benefits.
President Ruto still wants to improve animal health to boost exports. But he’s backed down from last year’s executive order on compulsory animal vaccinations.
That means the Samburu tribesmen will happily continue as semi- nomadic cattle and goat rearers - mostly unaware of the world around them.
My urban dwelling taxi driver might like to reflect more on a simple life in the desert not interfered with by virtue signalling politicians.
One more thing. Never let anyone tell you again any New Zealand children live in poverty.
Peter Williams was a writer and broadcaster for half a century. Now watching from the sidelines. Peter blogs regularly on Peter’s Substack - where this article was sourced.
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